Irvine-based mortgage lender New Century Financial Corp. said Wednesday it did $5.5 billion in loans in May, up 28% from a year earlier.
May’s loan volume also was up 23% from April. The company has done $10.2 billion in loans so far this quarter, up 16% from a year ago.
The increase in volume this quarter is a result of New Century’s gains in loans to borrowers with good credit. Subprime loans,the core of the company’s lending business,have remained flat year over year.
About 14% of the company’s loans in April and May, or $1.4 billion, were to higher quality borrowers, a market the company didn’t target last year. For the year, New Century has made a total of $3.3 billion such loans.
The average interest rate on New Century’s subprime loans in May was 8.5%. In August, the average New Century loan was at 7.2%.
